John Wolf
by RandomShtScinceWhenever
Summary: AU. In the attack that made him a werewolf, Remus Lupin disappeared. Six years later in 1971, a boy named John Wolf is sorted into Gryffindor. Follow his journey of self-discovery, homecoming, and, most importantly, regaining the ability to trust. Rated T just to be safe OFFICIALLY DEAD
1. Prologue

**Hi. New story idea that was bouncing around. I may write more, I might not. It depends on the reaction I get. Have fun nitpicking and let me know if you want to see more.**

 **Prologue**

The full moon shone high above as the boy padded softly across the silver painted yard to the dark and mysterious woods beyond. The place fascinated him. He wanted to see what it was like beneath the emerald leaves. But Mother had forbidden exploration, saying it was too dangerous. It only served to make him more curious.

Tonight had seemed like a good night for an expedition such as this. The night was cool, the sky was clear, and the moon would provide more than enough light.

It was dark under the trees and there were all sorts of strange and interesting sounds. The boy's head swiveled every which way, trying to make sense of all that he was hearing. Suddenly, to his left, the bushes began to rustle, as if something big were moving through them. Then came the horrible growling, a deep rumbling sound that sent a trickle of fear down the boy's spine.

The boy whimpered. This wasn't fun anymore. He wanted to go home! But no matter which way he turned, he couldn't seem to find the right path.

The bushes rustled again, behind him now. The growling was louder before something big and smelly and scary burst out of them, knocking him down. He cried out; he was lost, alone and scared and the thing was hurting him with its sharp teeth and cruel claws. The thing grabbed his arm with its huge maw and _pulled._ The boy screamed because it hurt and he just wanted it to stop, please, why _won't it stop?!_

Someone must have heard him, for the thing suddenly let go and looked up, the boy's blood dripping from its chin. It bounded away, leaving him a bloody crying mess on the forest floor. _This is it,_ he thought. _This is the end._ But he didn't want it to be over.


	2. Chapter 1: The Train

**Chapter 1**

"I'm Lily and this is Severus."

"John."

John watched the two newcomers warily as they sat across from him in the train compartment. They were completely unknown to him and his comrades hadn't mentioned anyone bearing their description. The boy, Severus - _Latin, meaning stern_ \- was quiet and cautious. He had dark hair and obsidian eyes, sallow skin, and a hooked nose that, judging by the line of the bridge, hadn't always been that way. The girl, Lily - _lilium, flower, purity and love,_ _ **majesty**_ \- was fair-skinned with rose petal red hair and emerald green eyes. Severus was sizing him up in the least noticeable way he could. Lily did not bother to hide the fact that she was watching. Must be because of his eyes. They always drew a few stares. Very annoying for when he wanted to disappear.

"So, um," Lily had decided to try and break the awkward silence. She fidgeted a bit when John turned the full weight upon her. "You excited for Hogwarts?"

John cocked his head, watching her, turning the question over in his mind. Was he excited for Hogwarts? The books had certainly made it _seem_ interesting, but anyone with half a brain knew that books - especially history and school textbooks - were the biggest load of propaganda you could find anywhere. If the information was right, then yes, he was excited. But if the information was wrong, he might just die of boredom. Either way, at least it meant he was away from _**them**_ , even if the others couldn't get away with him too. Finally he decided on an answer that he thought would satisfy her.

"Yes."

Lily bit her lip, seemingly wanting to say something, but stopped herself, uncertain. John raised an eyebrow and waited. She'd say what she wished eventually. Lily wet her lips before she finally spoke again.

"What house do you think you'll be in? I really hope I get Slytherin with Sev, but Gryffindor sounds nice."

John glanced at Severus. The other boy stared at him a moment before he said quietly, "Slytherin." The first time he'd spoken.

John turned inwards, thinking. Each house had its merits. Ravenclaw would surely open up a treasure trove of knowledge as would Slytherin. Slytherin and Hufflepuff would earn him opportunities to gain allies, though the Hufflepuff ones would probably last longer. Gryffindor sounded like the home of daredevils but that was fine. At least there he would be encouraged to take risks and no one would bat an eye if he kept up his routine. On the other hand, that would leave him open to hostility from Slytherin. Hm…

"Well, I -" John cut himself off, his keen ears detecting yelling that was starting to grow louder. From the sound of it, a fight was starting to break out. "Something wicked this way comes."

John shot to his feet, a confused Lily following a few seconds after. He ignored her confused stammers, instead going out into the corridor and heading towards the source of the commotion.

The yelling was coming from two black haired boys, fellow first years judging by their size. Both were whacking each other 'round the head, fists clenched and teeth bared. A ragtag group of children were standing around, watching and chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The two boys broke apart, the taller of the two raising his fist high to swing at the smaller bespectacled boy. John rolled his eyes and reached out, catching hold of the taller boy's wrist in an unyielding iron grip. The boy would later look at his wrist to see a dark bruise staining the ivory skin.

John stepped forward, in between the two. "Oi, knock it off, the both of you. Are you aiming to get yourselves in detention before the school year even starts?"

The taller boy sneered at him, "And who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Someone who'd rather not listen to the inevitable blowup when one the older students finds out and intervenes."

"Oh, why don't you just mind your own business?" The taller boy gave him a shove, a scowl darkening his features.

"Hey, now, why don't you pick on somebody your own size, then?" exclaimed the other boy, his cracked spectacles hanging askew on one ear. He glared at the taller boy, bring his fists up like a prizefighter.

John rolled his eyes, an irritated sigh escaping him, "Hullo, Pot, meet Kettle. And that really isn't necessary; I can take care of myself, you know."

They ignored him, of course, beginning to bicker again as they started getting

up in each other's faces, the taller boy trying to tug his wrist out of John's grip.

John scowled, "Enough of this." He rounded on the smaller of the fighters, drawing his wand. The bespectacled boy froze, staring apprehensively at the length of wood. " _Reparo_."

The boy hesitantly took off his now whole spectacles, examining them. He whistled, "Wow, mate, you did a good job with these!" He put them back on, hazel eyes fixing themselves on John. He smiled and stuck his hand out, the fight apparently forgotten, though the taller boy was still seething. "I'm James"- _From Latin Jacomus, supplanter_ -", by the way. James Potter."

"John Wolf." _And I'm not your mate!_

The annoying prat behind them, not to be left out, gave his wrist a tug in an attempt to turn John around. John gave in, turning. The prat wriggled his hand around until he could comfortably grasp John's wrist. "Sirius"- _Dog Star, brightest star_ -"Black, _toujours pur_."

John elegantly raised one eyebrow, somehow getting the feeling he'd be needing that gesture a lot in the coming months. _Is he for real?_

"Inbred elitist prat," James sing-songed behind him.

Sirius stiffened, "I am not!"

"Says the one who just spouted off his family motto."  
"It's just a motto, something you say after you give your name! It doesn't mean anything!"

"Yes it does, it's French! My, my, your dear Norman ancestors would be so ashamed."

"They're not my ancestors! They're just a bunch of dead people who live on my wall!"

John let out another irritated sigh, dragging one hand down his face in exasperation. "Right, enough of this. Come on, Lily, Severus. Seems like there's no intelligent life to found here." John swept away, ignoring the stiffening of the pompous prats behind him. Severus followed after sneering at both the taller boys. Lily was the only one to glance back as they made their way back to their compartment. And she only did it to throw them a contemptuous glance.

 **AN: Sorry for the funky formatting; I still don't know how to work the Doc Manager thingy. Anyways, I tweaked the main 3/4 of the gang's meeting, so it should flow better.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I pull ideas from multiple sources, but I don't have the best memory unless I** ** _make_** **myself memorize something. So, if you see anything that comes from one of your stories, please let me know and I'll do my best to assign credit where credit is due. However, as you can probably tell, I love to procrastinate, so it probable won't happen right away.**

 **Have fun and please leave a review if you feel like it!**


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